Smith even gave SEC Chair Mary Jo Whitea deadline to comply with his request: Oct. 13, two weeks from the date of the letter.

Bevis Longstreth, a Huffington Post contributor and former SEC commissioner appointed by President Ronald Reagan, told The Huffington Post that the SEC “can just tell [Smith] to go to hell.” Smith’s attempt to flex his muscle, Longstreth said, “shows just how little muscle he really has.”